Can You Play PS1 Games On PS3?

If you have an old system laying around, It could be time to play some PS1 games on the PS3. Any PS1 discs will work. You can play PS1 games through an official Sony online service if you don’t have physical PS1 discs on hand. For PS2 games, only older PS3s still had the PS2 chip inside of them like the 60GB and launch versions.

Yes, you can play PS1 games on the PS3. All Playstation 3 consoles can run Playstation 1 discs. Newer PS3 models can not run PS2 games however, as Sony removed the function late into the system’s life span.

PS1 games are upscaled through the PS3’s HDMI output. You can also play any PS1 game on the PS2. It works on any model, including the PS2 slim.

Other Thoughts on PS1 Games w/ PS3 and Beyond

Sony has slowly been stripping away backwards compatibility with their systems, favoring their online services to play old games. I understand this decision from a business perspective but I still wish they found some way to include backwards compatibility on physical discs.

The PS5’s lack of backwards compatibility seems ironic when you look at some of its marketing during the PS4 era. Sony were touting the ease of playing their games to be a main selling point against the Xbox One. The Microsoft system was restricting used games and required frequent connection to the internet, but they pulled back on these features due to backlash.

Now, The Xbox Series X is backwards compatible with every generation of Xbox game. Want to play an older Playstation game on your PS5? You’ll have to hope it’s been remastered or found its way ported onto a service or online store.

Any old games you find might be incomplete. Even games as recent as the early 2010’s are usually just the base version with no DLC. Certain games are missing entirely from franchises. Ape Escape 2 is in the store, but not 3? Little stuff like that.

I know this seems nitpicky. Sony has been dominating exclusive next-gen titles and gives you more than a lifetime of games to play. The last piece of the puzzle to me is supporting physical discs if you’re not going to commit to successfully moving every old game over in its entirety.